It's a Date
by What the Fluff Project
Summary: Collab between Lia (unshakespearean) and Aurora (Aurora Sanders). An hour and a half after Rhys is supposed to show up for a date, Gwen is about to leave, when someone she's never met before sits down next to her and says, "Harkness. Captain Jack Harkness. Just go with it, yeah? Whoever didn't bother to show up is a dick." T for swearing. Harcooper and Towen! Potential abuse TWs
1. Chapter 1

**Title: It's a Date  
Author: Lia (unshakespearean) and Aurora (Aurora Sanders)  
Fandom: Torchwood  
Characters: [Jack, Gwen] [Tosh, Owen], Ianto, mentions of Rhys  
Rating: T  
Warnings: Swearing  
Notes: Inspired by this prompt by likehemmins on Tumblr: **" **imagine that you've been stood up by your douche of a boyfriend on date night and the waitress keeps asking if you're ready to order but you keep asking for more time hoping that he's just late. people are starting to look at you with those apologetic looks like they know and you start to feel worse and worse about the whole situation but as you decide to just get up and leave, this boy you've never seen sits down explaining loudly "sorry i'm so late, babe, traffic is crazy right now." and he quietly adds, "i'm Michael. just go with it, yeah? whoever didn't bother to show up is a dick." and so you do go with it because he's being sweet and trying to save you (and plus he's the cutest thing you've ever seen) and as you're leaving the restaurant after the best non-planned date ever, he asks you out for real this time."**

* * *

 **Chapter One**

Gwen sighed as she checked her watch for the billionth time. Rhys was admittedly pretty notorious for lateness, but this was a little out of the ordinary. He had said he'd be there at six, and it was already half past seven. People who had arrived after her were paying their bills and leaving.

Rhys hadn't replied to her last two texts, which was so typical for him. It always seemed like he wouldn't reply unless he had a compelling reason to, which usually meant him complaining about his work or drunk-texting her after a night with the lads. She'd proposed this date as a way to fix their relationship (not something she'd said, but she thought it was pretty obvious). And it was becoming obvious that Rhys didn't even want to try.

"Sorry I'm so late, babe, traffic is crazy right now," A man with an American accent declared, sitting down across from her. Gwen was about to ask _Are you crazy?_ when she noticed that the people at the other tables had finally stopped staring at her.

"Harkness. Captain Jack Harkness. Just go with it, yeah? Whoever didn't bother to show up is a dick."

"Oh, you've met him?" Gwen muttered under her breath. "Anyway… hi… I'm Gwen. Gwen Cooper." She finally took a sip of the water she'd wanted all day and ignored all night - both caused by the stress leading up to and during this "date."

"Nice to meet you, Gwen Cooper," he said with a grin, a sort of cheeky smirk that made her blush. God, he was cute. _Really_ cute. And _American_. "Now. I think it's high time we ate. I'm _starving_."

 _This is bloody insane_ , she thought to herself. But she was rather compelled. He had saved her, after all, and was being very sweet - and there was the whole almost-unrealistically cute business.

"Okay, fine," she said.

Jack smiled, and raised his water-glass. "Cheers."

" _I do not owe you!"_ A very loud voice from the bar got everyone to turn their heads. "Owen, I don't owe you a thing!"

"Yes you do, Tosh! You absolutely-Ianto, tell me that was under two minutes. Come on. That had to be."

The one who wasn't saying anything - Ianto - pulled a stopwatch out from seemingly nowhere. "Sorry," he said.

( _Finally, someone who's actually Welsh_ , Gwen thought to herself. She hadn't known when she picked this pub that it was the place all the tourists liked to visit.)

"To who?" asked the other guy - Owen.

"To _whom_ ," the woman - Tosh - corrected.

"Bloody hell, not now," Owen muttered.

"Two minutes and nine seconds," Ianto interrupted. Owen groaned as he handed over the money, and Tosh cheered.

"What the hell are they doing?" Gwen mused.

"Ignore them," Jack said firmly. "They're clearly just a bunch of clowns."

"You got that right," Ianto called back.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Jack muttered.

Gwen wasn't sure whether she was more confused or amused. "What, do you know them?" she asked.

"Yes," Jack admitted. "And they _weren't_ supposed to do that-I was gonna give you all promotions!" he shouted at them.

The three of them looked at each other in stock silence. "Ianto's fault," Tosh said very solemnly.

"Who are they, then?" Gwen asked, drawing Jack's attention back to her. "Who's the one in the suit? The only other Welsh person in this pub."

Jack laughed. "You would not believe how many times someone says something along those lines," he said. "Anyway, that's Ianto… my… wingman…"

Gwen grinned. "Alright, who's the other bloke?"

"Owen… my… other… wingman…"

"Right, and the girl?" This was getting more amusing by the second.

"Tosh… my… wing…woman?"

Gwen laughed. "Wow, you're high-maintenance."

"Oooooooh!" Owen shouted.

"Shut _up!_ " Jack shouted. "Okay, fine, they're my coworkers, and they-well, mainly Ianto but the others are more than happy to assist... Tosh and Owen would do anything to go out together and not have it really be a date-"

"-I resent that!" Owen yelled out, clearly very drunk.

"Why aren't you two a couple yet?" Ianto asked him.

"I dunno. Tosh, why aren't we a couple yet?" Owen asked, facing the woman.

Tosh shrugged, a bright blush coming to her cheeks. "Um…"

"Let's fix that," the drunk Owen suggested, grabbing Tosh and kissing her.

"Um. _Anyway."_ Jack mumbled, clearing his throat. "As I was saying. Coworkers."

"Can I work where you work?" Gwen laughed. "Sounds fun."

"Why, you want to kiss me?" Jack asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"I—" Gwen stuttered, looking down at her hands and probably blushing just as much as Tosh had. "Well, you don't seem like the type of person to stand someone up for an hour and a half."

"An hour and a _half?"_ Jack demanded. "Is that _normal_ for him?"

"Um, it's sort of...gotten worse over time," Gwen answered, not realizing the truth until she said it. "He's always been a bit late…"

"But he keeps on pushing your boundaries, because he can get away with it." Jack shook his head. "Typical. Anyway. Where do you work that makes _this_ dysfunctional foursome seem like a better option?"

"I'm on the police," said Gwen. "Just got promoted, actually. Police Constable Gwen Cooper, at your service." _He's not the only one who can flirt_ , she told herself firmly.

Jack laughed. "Is that supposed to make you sound impressive?"

"Maybe, yeah," Gwen retorted playfully. "Anyway, I love it, but you four seem like good friends. That is, when you're not making bets on each other… Why does he carry around a stopwatch, anyway? Does he get off on timing things, or-?"

"Think carefully before you answer that, sir," Ianto called. "Or else I won't be making the thirty-minute trip to get more coffee."

Jack gulped. "It's… it's very useful for the things we do. Whether he needs to carry it around everywhere he goes… is… something he can decide for himself."

"And you're the boss?" Gwen asked. "That whole 'Captain' business, is it serious, or were _you_ trying to look impressive?"

"For all intents and purposes, I am the boss, and since we're just the four of us and there aren't any higher-ups to answer too, I can call myself 'Captain' if I want."

"Yeah, and it looks like your fancy title's a bit of a joke to those three," Gwen pointed out, still giggling. "Makes sense, wearing that getup." She motioned to the long coat he had hung over the back of the seat, and then to the suspenders.

"Oi!" Jack protested. He pouted the single most adorable pout known to the planet for just a split second before regaining the smirk. "You're just saying that to avoid admitting that it looks good as all hell."

It _did,_ but Gwen didn't want to admit that — she liked the easy flirtation between the two of them. "Well, _Captain,_ maybe you just need someone to help you improve your fashion sense."

"In the words of our wise drunk friend Owen, I resent that." Jack laughed, and it didn't even seem forced that he was referring to the group as Gwen's friends, too. They felt more like friends than "the lads" ever had.

Feeling daring, Gwen reached over and adjusted the collar on Jack's shirt. "It was turned in," she told him, smiling.

"Maybe you would be a good fashion consultant… PC Gwen Cooper, was it?" Jack laughed.

"He is a bit less fashion-savvy than would be expected of someone of his sexual orientation," Owen smirked from across the room.

Of _course._ The moment Gwen Cooper found a nice, friendly guy who seemed to express some kind of interest in her, he was gay, and it was completely platonic. "Oh…" she muttered.

"What? What's wrong?" Jack asked in concern.

"It's just...this isn't a date. Not that it was," she rushed to explain herself, "but it couldn't even be a fake date, because you could never be interested in… me."

"What?" Jack demanded. "Oh, what Owen said? No, I'm omnisexual. Bisexual, in more common terms."

Gwen should not have been feeling as happy as she _was_ feeling. "Oh!" she answered brightly. "Me too, actually." She'd never "come out" to anyone, really, except for Andy, who'd taken it as a sign that she was the kind of person who would be interested in a threesome. And she certainly didn't want to come out to Rhys — things were complicated enough already without throwing sexual orientation into the mix.

"Well, then you'd fit right in at my job," Jack winked.

"Oh?" Gwen asked.

"Oh yeah," said Jack. "None of them are straight. Even Owen, although it wouldn't be glaringly obvious from the way he was attacking Toshiko earlier."

"I am straight!" Owen shouted.

"I can prove otherwise," Ianto piped up.

"Don't you dare," Owen growled.

"Aaaaaanyway," Jack said, turning back to Gwen, who was at this point in stitches, "you seem to fit in well… care to join us?"

"What _is_ your job, anyway? You've told me nothing."

Jack smiled. "Maybe you'll just have to come by and see. Tomorrow, perhaps?"

"Uh...well...actually, I was supposed to be visiting my boyfriend's family. His cousin is having a wedding. And he...keeps on making hints about...you know...popping the question." Gwen gulped.

" _What?_ " Jack's wrists were clutched tight to the table. "You'd marry _him?_ I've only seen what he's put you through tonight, and I'm sure that's not the half of it."

"Well, no one else will have me," Gwen shrugged helplessly.

"PC Gwen Cooper, from just tonight, I can tell that's not true. Any man would be lucky to have you, and this boyfriend of yours doesn't appreciate what he has. What do you say you be the one to bail out on him for once? Ditch the wedding, and come meet me and my friends properly on work hours. Ianto won't be quite as likely to make comments like the ones he has made tonight, and Owen won't be kissing anyone — probably."

Gwen laughed, covering up her teeth, which she'd always been self-conscious of, with her hands. "I can't do that, though."

"Listen, I'm not going to force you to do anything, because that's not the kind of person I am, but I really think this situation is unhealthy." Jack told Gwen in a quiet voice.

Gwen sighed. "You're right, I suppose. So, tomorrow?"

"It's a date," Jack told her with a wink.

* * *

 **Hi guys! Thanks for reading. This was supposed to be a one shot but Lia and I are making it a multi-chap because we love it too much. Anyone want to guess the Easter egg from season 2 of Torchwood? ;) - Aurora (Aurora Sanders on FF)**

 **Hey guys! Lia here! Thanks for reading! There is more coming, I promise! We just had way too much fun with this so we had to keep going. Thank you to likehemmins on Tumblr for the prompt! See y'alls soon! *Insert long signoff because I'm too lazy/too excited to write chapter 2 to write the thing* - Lia xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE: Potential trigger warning for abuse**

* * *

 **Chapter Two:**

"Rhys, honey?" Gwen called out when she walked into the kitchen the next morning.

"What." For all of Rhys's bad behavior last night — not even texting her back except to say that he'd gotten caught up with the lads and he didn't see why it was such a big deal — he didn't seem very sorry to Gwen.

"I have something to tell you." As Gwen spoke the words, she wondered if it was even a good idea. Sure, maybe it was for her own health, but maybe it _wouldn't_ be. Rhys had never laid hands on her before, but Gwen had always wondered if that was lurking somewhere.

"Oh?" He smiled at her, obviously thinking it was a _good_ thing.

"I...I won't be able to make the wedding today. Something came up at work." Gwen felt bad lying, but she couldn't exactly explain the truth. Plus, it technically was work — at least a possible new job.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Rhys demanded.

"Well, I would have, but you didn't show up last night." What was Gwen even doing? She'd never stood up to him before like this.

"WHAT?" he demanded. "This is just because I haven't been devoting as much attention to you lately, isn't it? You know, you should be grateful that I even love you."

"Well, actually…" Gwen straightened up, Jack's words about how any man would be lucky to have her from last night ringing in her head. "I don't see why you have a problem with me abandoning you once, when you always abandon me."

Rhys walked closer to her, picking his words carefully. "Last chance, Gwen Cooper. Last chance to prioritize me the way you should."

Gwen looked down at her feet, breathing shallowly. "No."

Immediately, Rhys lost it, throwing his fist towards her for the very first time. Fortunately, Gwen dodged, managing to avoid Rhys thanks to his hangover from last night, and Rhys's fist sunk into the plaster instead.

"How...how DARE you." Gwen gulped and stated, burning up with anger.

"How dare _I?_ How dare _you?_ " Rhys returned. "You're paying for that wall, by the way."

"No. I'm not." This was what Andy and everyone at her actual job had always told her, wasn't it? Leave him?

And with that, Gwen ran out of the house, too scared to even grab her hairbrush or some food.

* * *

"Bloody hell, don't let Ianto give you caffeine," Owen muttered as he walked past Jack, who was tapping his foot and drumming his fingers on his desk simultaneously. "Ianto! He only gets decaf today!"

"Since when were _you_ in charge?" Ianto retorted.

" _Thank_ you," said Jack.

"You still only get decaf, sir," Ianto said.

"Dammit," Jack muttered.

"GUYS!" Tosh shouted for the _fifth_ time, since the boys weren't listening as usual. "She's inside the whatsit!"

"It's called a tourist office," Ianto said, rolling his eyes.

"Forget that; _go let her in_!" Jack exclaimed, jumping up from his desk.

"Calm _down_ ," Tosh chastised. "You're like a puppy."

Ianto shook his head mirthfully and began walking toward the cog door… very… very… slowly.

"Okay, now you're just trying to piss me off," Jack groaned. Ianto laughed and ran out.

"Well, he certainly talked this place up," Gwen said to herself as she looked at a brochure. "I suppose that's why they were in the unofficial pub for tourists everywhere…"

"Finally, I'm not the only one who thinks that." Gwen jumped to see that Ianto was standing behind her.

"How the hell did you get there?" Gwen exclaimed. "Hi, by the way." Ianto said nothing; he appeared to be studying her face. "What?"

"You have a choice," he said very quietly. "Be an incredibly good actress –– and by that I mean _incredibly_ — or have Jack fuss over you — and rightfully so."

"God, is it obvious?" she asked.

Ianto nodded. "Pretty obvious, yeah. He has a hell of a radar, especially since you talked to him last night. I would let him fuss over you, honestly… although I will warn you, he has a strong sense of vengeance, and, as you will quickly find out, he has more than the means to express that, and it's very difficult to get him to stop. At least, it always has been for us."

Gwen bit her lip. "What would he do?"

"That depends on how good an actress you are… and how loudly we've been talking."

"What do you-" Ianto pointed up at a CCTV camera.

"Toshiko tricked it out," he said. "Far more powerful than anything you'll see on the streets. And all three of the others are incredibly nosy. If they were listening and we weren't quiet enough, they'll _know something's up_."

"Ianto!" Gwen whispered, face reddening. "You said that loudly on purpose, didn't you."

"Sorry, Gwen," he said. "If Jack thought we were hiding something from him — and especially something like that — he'd be mad at _me_ , and you're about to find out how bad that can get."

* * *

"Hi, Jack," Gwen said brightly when he walked over. He'd cheered her up so much last night — not to mention being the only person who'd really responded positively when she came out to them. She wondered what kind of workplace needed this much security (and debriefing on the boss), though.

"PC Gwen Cooper! You came!" Jack smiled, and gave Gwen a casual one-armed hug. In the corner of Gwen's eye, she could see Owen raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, well…" Gwen started, worried that she was going to start blushing all over if _Captain Jack Harkness_ started flirting with her again, "I said I would, didn't I? And I keep my promises."

"Except when it's to an asshole boyfriend who never keeps his, of course," Jack winked.

"Oh, yeah, that." Gwen nodded, hoping Jack still was as eager to see her. She knew, sort of, that what Rhys told her about being worthless wasn't true, but it was so much easier when she was with people like her co-workers or Jack and his friends than when she was alone in the flat with Rhys.

"So. Would you like to meet Myfanwy? She's our little pet. Ianto found her one day, and although she looks scary, she really is quite affectionate." Jack proposed.

"Um...sure." Gwen shrugged, wondering if this pet was a snake or something.

"Myfanwy!" Jack called out, and a big black presence started making its way down from the roof of the building. A _pterodactyl?_

"If you don't run screaming at the sight of her, I figure you're okay to see the rest of Torchwood," Owen said casually.

The pterodactyl hobbled over to Jack and put its head under his hand, rubbing up against him like a cat.

"How do you have a _pterodactyl?"_ Gwen demanded. At least it was a nice one.

"Well...that involves some explanation." Ianto looked over at Jack with a raised eyebrow. "Boss, permission?"

"Go right ahead, Ianto," Jack laughed. He pulled Gwen tighter into his side for just a second before stepping away. Gwen looked over at him to see that he was grabbing a rather comfortable-looking swivel chair. "Have a seat," he offered.

"Thanks," Gwen mumbled as she sat down, hoping to hide her blush. It really was a comfortable swivel chair.

"But of course." Jack smiled that winning smile at her and she _knew_ she was turning red as a tomato at this point. "Myfanwy, come say hello. She's nice."

"Oh-oh…" Gwen trailed off as the pterodactyl came over to her and nuzzled against her leg. "Hello, Myfanwy," she whispered. Myfanwy let out a sound, somewhere between a squawk and a screech, but quiet and gentle.

"That's the sound she makes when she _really_ likes someone," said Ianto. "Anyway, her story. The thing is, she's kind of a long way from home."

"No _shit_ ," Gwen half-laughed.

"Well, she came here through a rift in time and space," Ianto said.

"A what?" Gwen asked.

"Well-" Ianto started.

"Remember Margaret Blaine, the Lord Mayor a year back who went missing?" Jack interjected.

"What's she got to do with anything?" Gwen asked.

"Do you remember what happened before she went missing?" Jack prompted.

"Well, yeah, I was on shift that night right- _right around here_ ," Gwen realized. "That's why this place looked familiar! There was that massive earthquake-thing, and the epicenter was right here. What was that, anyway?"

"It was an earthquake," said Jack. "But the fault wasn't in between tectonic plates under the crust of the earth. The fault is a crack in time and space, a rift, that's been here in Cardiff for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. Back in 1869, it was sealed by a girl named Gwyneth who, if the picture on file is correct, actually looks a lot like you-"

"-Hold on, I've heard this story!" Gwen exclaimed.

"You do?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, it's a thing my gran told me, something that apparently happened to _her_ gran's cousin or something like that. Said she worked for an undertaker, and the place was haunted by blue ghosts, and something about Charles Dickens… I'd always thought it was just some silly ghost story she used to tell me to scare me, especially since Charles Dickens was in it… You're saying it's true?!"

"Well, if you decide to believe me," Jack shrugged. "It's apparently this thing called spatial genetic multiplicity...since Gwyneth grew up her whole life on the Rift, one or more copies of her have been spread across Cardiff's past and future. Is all of this sinking in?" he asked, looking at Gwen's confused face.

"So...I'm just a copy of someone? I'm not real?" _Maybe I should be grateful for Rhys after all…_ Gwen thought.

Jack winced, probably sensing that the whole 1860s story and the knowledge that Gwen was not unique throughout time was probably not the best way to introduce her to the concept of the Rift.

"No, you're just as real. Your existence doesn't hinge on anything. Well, if Gwyneth was attacked by a Weeping Angel and erased from history, you probably would be too, but you're very much alive…" Jack said, backtracking.

"Not helping, Harkness." Owen reprimanded Jack, while Gwen raised an eyebrow and asked. "What's a Weeping Angel?"

"It's a very rare type of alien. Hasn't appeared in Great Britain in centuries. So you're probably safe, and Gwyneth is safe too unless someone goes back to 1869 and brings a Weeping Angel there. Sorry, got a little off topic there. Anyway, the aim of Torchwood Three — that's us, Torchwood One was in London and Torchwood Two is in Glasgow and run by a very strange man, wouldn't recommend going there — is to deal with the creatures that come out of the Rift as well as any other creatures that find themselves in Cardiff, and use their technology to improve the protection of Cardiff." Jack explained.

"Deal with? Does that mean….you _kill_ them?" Gwen winced, wondering just what she'd stepped into.

"Sometimes. Doesn't the police kill dangerous humans sometimes, too, in self-defense? No different." Jack shrugged.

"I guess not." Gwen answered.

"And we don't always kill them," Ianto added. "Like the Weevils. They don't mean much harm, but they can be accidentally dangerous when not sedated, and they're too big to try to kill, so we keep them down here. They happen to enjoy it. Fans of closed spaces, they are.

Jack looked down at Gwen. "Are you alright?"

Gwen nodded. "I guess," she said softly. "It's… it's a lot at once… bit of a culture shock. But I'm okay… it's _amazing_ down here!" She got up from her chair and began looking around, eyes widening more and more by the second.

"Glad you like it," Jack said with a hint of smugness.

"I've never seen anything like it!" Gwen spun around and looked right at Jack. He nearly stepped back in shock as he noticed two things:

First, that she was breathtakingly beautiful, with luminous green eyes and little freckles dotting her face and an unusual but adorable gap between her front teeth.

Second, that beneath all that beautiful, something had happened, something bad, and he had a feeling who was responsible.

"Thank you," Gwen whispered, wrapping her arms around Jack's waist. "Thank you so much for letting me come here."

Jack smiled softly and hugged her back. "Of course," he said, very softly, almost as his words were especially for her. "I'm glad you came."

Owen coughed loudly, ruining the moment.

"Owen!" Tosh chastised not quietly enough.

"What?" Owen asked, oblivious as usual.

"Oh, shut up," she sighed, and she kissed him.

"And there goes the no kissing promise," Jack teased. "Gwen, are you okay?"

Watching the two of them kiss caused a pit in Gwen's stomach. _Oh, God — Rhys!_

"I—I have to go," Gwen said quickly. "This was fun, but I really should get going."

"Gwen, are you okay?" Jack repeated.

"I'm fine!" she said forcefully. "Thank you for letting me come here, but I really have to go. Mind if I use your bathroom before I leave?"

"Not at all," Jack said uneasily. "Down the stairs and to the left.

"Thanks," Gwen said quickly, and she took off.

"So are you gonna retcon her?" Owen asked, hopping up on one of the stools in the Hub and turning to face Jack.

"I don't think so." Jack answered.

"Are you crazy? She's part of the _police_ force! We don't want a policewoman knowing there are _aliens!_ You know they're incompetent." Owen insisted.

"Harper. Remember who's in command here." Jack told him sharply.

"Listen, I know you're upset about Estelle, but that doesn't mean you should go letting any random girl you take a liking to join Torchwood…" Owen trailed off.

Jack had been talking rather passively to Owen before this point, but then he turned fully to him. "Do not bring up Estelle. And Owen Harper, don't you _ever_ question my competence. I was the one who built this team back up from the ground after everyone died in 2000, and I was the one who saved all your asses multiple times. We've been talking for a long time about getting a contact with the police, and Suzie Costello — who, may I remind you, _betrayed_ us and then died — was the only one holding us back. She fits in."

"O...kay." Owen raised an eyebrow but turned away, not wanting to provoke Jack any more.

"What's she _doing_ down there?" he asked a few seconds later. "Seriously, how long does it take to use the bathroom?"

"Toshiko, go check on her," Jack ordered.

Ianto tried to protest, "Sir, I—"

" _Go_." Jack nodded at Tosh, who ran off nervously.

 _Owen's such a twat_ , she thought to herself as she walked down the hall. _How dumb is he?_

She reached the bathroom door and opened it tentatively. "Gwen, are you in here?"

There was no response. "Gwen? Are you alright?"

There was silence, and then she could hear Gwen burst into tears.

* * *

 **Hey all! As promised, a second chapter. No Easter eggs this time...that I know of. I've been abandoning my fanfiction lately but hopefully I'll be getting back to it soon seeing as Lia's gotten me all excited about these characters again. Abusive!RFW and bisexual/emotionally abused Gwen Cooper are so canon, don't even try to deny it. - Aurora (Aurora Sanders on FF)**

 **Hey guys, Lia here! Yay for collabs with the brilliant Aurora! We have soooo many good ideas for this'un; I am sure you'll be pleased. As for my own work, I have just updated "Home" (by popular demand) and plan to keep going with that one. Next on my priorities list are the third entry for soggywarmpockets' ficletaweekpc Larsadie thing (which will be posted here), an extra special Rhysbasher for Mary aka Professional Procrastinator (also will be posted here), and then Bad Boy. Okay, self-promotion over. *Long outtro* - Lia xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

Gwen stared into the mirror in the bathroom, trying to get ahold of herself, but she couldn't seem to. _You're okay, Gwen,_ she told herself. _You've just met all these great people, and they all like you a lot._ But she couldn't listen to herself — somehow, everything kept on circling back to Rhys even though she was trying to make that _not_ happen. That just seemed to make everything worse.

It was ridiculous, and she knew that, but she felt like she couldn't breathe. _YOU'RE SAFE!_ she tried to tell herself, but she didn't think she was — she was shaking all over, and although she dimly knew that everyone was waiting back at the Hub, she just wanted to curl up in the bathroom and never go back. Because if she didn't go back, and bailed out now, she'd never have to tell Rhys about today. They could treat it as a setback, a mistake. Rhys made those often enough.

"Are you okay, Gwen?" Tosh's voice echoed. _Shit._ The door was opened a crack — Tosh had seen everything, and Gwen had been too wrapped up in her own world to even notice.

"Fine." Gwen straightened up, fully aware of her red face and shaking hands but not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Tosh. She couldn't just _stay_ there with Tosh watching.

"You sure?"

"Positive." Gwen answered, brushing past Tosh and heading back up to the Hub.

"Hey everyone. It was fun meeting you and seeing the Hub but I have to go. Long day." Gwen said as flippantly as possible when she approached the Torchwood team.

"Oh, okay. I'll give you my number." Jack told her, fumbling in his pocket for a sheet of paper. Owen looked over Jack with squinted eyes, in a look that Gwen interpreted to mean _Are you sure she belongs here?_

Gwen clung tightly to the slip of paper that Jack handed to her, to make her hands do _something_ besides shake. "Okay. See you soon."

* * *

"R-Rhys… I… I did something _horrible,_ " Gwen sobbed, rushing into the flat she shared with Rhys.

"Gwen? Gwen, come here." Rhys had looked angry at first, but when he saw Gwen crying, he seemed to push it aside.

Gwen rushed to Rhys, and he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her over to the couch. Something in Gwen objected to all the touching, _what if he hurts me again,_ but she dismissed it. Rhys had almost hit her because _she'd_ been the one messing up, not him. She shouldn't have flaked on him for the wedding.

"What did you do?" Rhys asked, pushing Gwen's hair away from her forehead. This time it felt a little less weird for him to be touching her. He _loved_ her, after all; he was her boyfriend.

"I—When you were late the other night, another guy showed up at the pub and sat across from me." Gwen felt Rhys stiff up, but continued with the story. She had to admit what she did wrong, or they'd never fix this.

Gwen told Rhys the story about Jack introducing her to his friends, even including the part where he flirted with her and made fun of Rhys. Rhys's face tensed up at that, and she looked at him. "Are you mad at me?"

"No," he told her, choosing his words carefully. "I'm mad at him for trying to tear what we have apart. Because I love you, and he's some bloody American who just thinks you're hot."

Gwen looked back to Jack's treatment of her at the pub. It wasn't all physical, right? He had been awfully flirtatious, and how could he have _possibly_ cared about her that much from just one night? It was ridiculous of her to listen to his advice.

"And then… And then I bailed on the wedding, and… went with him and his friends to their job. I don't even know what I was doing," Gwen shook her head. "You… you hate me now, don't you? You probably hate me and want to leave me."

"No." He shook his head. "I forgive you. I always forgive you. It's what you do when you love someone."

Gwen nodded, a little smile coming to her face. "I forgive you too, of course." She'd made a huge mistake, and come to him crying, and instead of turning her away like she'd expected, he'd listened and forgiven her. Surely she'd been wrong. _Jack_ had been wrong. Jack didn't know Rhys like she did. Sure, he got mad and everything, but he loved her. He wasn't going to do it again, of course.

"Good. Now we can just forget about it. We both were wrong, we can move on." Rhys told her.

Gwen nodded, and leaned back against him. "Yeah."

"Now. Should we watch some telly?" Rhys asked. "Just do something fun."

Gwen nodded eagerly. She was so tired of fighting, and it looked like he was too.

* * *

It had been three days since Gwen's little visit to the Hub, and the team hadn't heard from her since. Jack seemed to be checking his phone every few minutes these days, and while he claimed he was hoping for a call from UNIT about something or other, the others all knew better. After all, UNIT would call the official line, not his mobile.

"Give it up," Owen called when Jack tried to casually pick up his phone again. "It's been three days. She's not coming back." Jack shot a glare at Owen, but said nothing. "But we might as well go and find her. She's a threat if she doesn't come back."

" _We are not Retconning her_ ," Jack almost shouted.

There was a silence, which Owen broke. "Well I'm sorry for being the only one who cares about keeping us secret."

"Oh, please," Tosh almost snapped. "Ordering pizza under the name 'Torchwood?' You don't care about security. I'd think you were _jealous_ of her."

"I AM NOT GAY!" Owen shouted at the top of his lungs. Tosh giggled.

"Oh, so he says," Ianto sighed. "Well, if it's worth anything, I think she will come back."

"I hope so," Jack mumbled.

"I heard that," Owen said loudly.

"So did the rest of us," Ianto said. "We just didn't bother to say anything about it." He and Tosh shared a smile. Someday, Owen would come around… or out.

(Not that Tosh particularly _wanted_ that to happen. She was still hoping something would come of that kiss four nights ago; however, since she was pretty sure she was the only person on the planet who remembered things _better_ when drunk, as opposed to worse, she didn't say anything.)

The "Weevilometer," as Owen had nicknamed it (Ianto was out when the time came to name it, hence the lack of creativity), started buzzing.

"Not me," Owen said as quickly as possible.

"Not me," Tosh echoed.

"Bugger," Ianto muttered. He was never fast enough. "I swear, we have to pick sticks from now on—"

"Says Ianto for the seven hundredth time," Owen finished.

"Come on!" Jack called.

Tosh watched Jack and Ianto leave and then went back to her work.

"Hey, Tosh?" She turned around to see Owen standing right next to her. "Um… you know I'm not gay, right?"

Tosh laughed. "That's all you've got to tell me?"

"Er… no—I mean… Do you remember what happened a few nights ago in the pub?"

Tosh blushed. "Um… yeah… I…"

" …"

" …"

" …"

" …"

" …"

 _Fuck it all_ , Tosh thought, and she stood up, grabbed Owen, and kissed him.

Owen smirked against her mouth for just a second before backing her up against the wall. At least, he thought that was what he was doing. Really, Tosh was dragging him in such a way that he had to move quickly.

It was at least three minutes later that there was a ding.

"There's stuff," Tosh gasped, pulling away. She walked over to the monitor and then gasped.

"What?"

"Owen, you owe me a drink."

"NO WAY!" Owen shouted. He ran over to the monitor. "You have _got_ to be—"

Gwen Cooper was standing in the tourist office.

"—kidding me."

Tosh grinned. "Told you so."

A few seconds later, Tosh was leading Gwen back into the Hub. "It's nice to see you again," she said. "Jack and Ianto are out getting a Weevil, but they should be back soon."

"Can I see them?" Gwen asked.

Owen raised an eyebrow. "Jack and Ianto?" _Looks like the feelings are reciprocated…_

"No," Gwen quickly corrected him. "The Weevils."

Owen nodded slowly, looking over Gwen and her tired face.

"I just need some space," she sighed. "It's been a hard week."

Gwen walked away from Owen and Tosh and down to the vault. She hadn't exactly been that interested in the Weevil, but it was pretty interesting to look at — being alien and everything. She leaned against the wall of the vault, sighing. How had she gotten herself into all this?

* * *

"We're back," Jack called as he walked through the door. "Ianto's putting the Weevil in the vault."

"Yeah, about that," said Tosh. "There's something down there you might want to checkout."

Just then, Ianto came running up the stairs. "Sir—"

"—I already told him," Tosh interjected.

Jack rolled his eyes. "And for Christ's sake—"

"— _Go downstairs_ ," Tosh and Ianto interrupted simultaneously.

"—stop calling me that," Jack finished.

He ran down the stairs, not sure what exactly was going on. Was it a threat? No, couldn't be; the others would be down there with guns. _Then what the hell—_

He gasped as he saw who was downstairs.

"Gwen?"

She turned around. "Hi," she mumbled. It was clear she'd been crying. Jack was torn between overjoyed to see her and furious that she was upset.

"What's wrong?" he asked, going over to her and laying a hand on her shoulder. She said nothing, instead continuing to cry. "Gwen?"

"He cheated on me," she whispered. "R—Rhys cheated on me!"

Jack felt the fury rising, but managed to hold it together. "Oh, Gwen," he said softly. "I'm so sorry." He helped her up and put his hands on her shoulders for a second before slowly moving them down her arms, finally taking her hands in his.

And then he felt something.

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered. "Gwen, don't you remember what I told you in the pub?"

Gwen looked down at her hands. How was it that Jack even cared? He probably didn't — he was probably just some bloke looking for a girl to date. It was true what Rhys always said to her, anyway. He was the best she'd have. She could remember all the times they'd fought, and how much he'd insulted her, saying that really, she was lucky to be with him and no one else would have her. And now he'd left her. Sure, he'd always been late to dates, but he still prioritized her. Now she wasn't even a priority.

"But no one else will have me," she muttered quietly, avoiding his eyes.

Jack sighed, barely holding in his anger at Rhys, and put his hands on her shoulder. "I meant what I said that night in the pub. Any man or woman would be lucky to have you. You can just leave him. He makes you feel horrible, Gwen, and he's just betrayed you in the worst possible way for you!"

"But...but I _can't!_ " She yelled. The Weevil standing behind them perked up at the sound of her yell, and plastered itself against the glass.

"But _why?"_ he demanded, doing his best not to get angry with her like he was sure Rhys did. She had to have a _reason._

"Because we share a flat!" She shook her head, feeling utterly trapped. "I can't leave him. I won't have anything! I only came here to say goodbye. We're moving to London because of his work. I won't be seeing you again. Ever."

Gwen turned away, unable to face Jack after the admission. He'd told her to leave, just like everyone else had, and she couldn't. Even after how badly Rhys had hurt her, she just wanted him to hold her in his arms, and tell her that everything would work out, that they would be together in the end. Because that was what they'd always wanted, after all — a future together, a marriage and kids.

"Gwen…" Jack took a step back from her while she ran away, cursing Rhys, who'd _done_ all this to her. He just couldn't imagine, looking at her, why anyone would want punch her, to make her feel worthless, when she was so much more than worthless. Okay, maybe he was a little infatuated, but he'd taken on the job to protect Cardiff from aliens and he was feeling that same protective instinct kick in now with Gwen. Even though Rhys wasn't actually an alien, he could've easily been for how _pissed_ Jack was getting at him right now.

Gwen flew out the front door of the Hub, not bothering to respond to the worried looks and questions from the other three, and took off through the Roald Dahl Plass towards the docks. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, or where she was going, but she just had to get away from everyone. Rhys, Jack… everyone.

She only stopped running when she was steps away from tripping over the chains and tumbling headfirst into the water. Come to think of it, that might be nice, minus the fact that it was bloody freezing out. Catching her breath, she walked slowly over to a bench nearby and sat down, burying her head in her hands.

 _Now what?_

Something heavy, warm, and made of fabric rather ungracefully flopped on top of her. A big gold button on the sleeve dangled in front of her and she recognized it instantly.

She looked up for a fleeting moment before looking down at her feet again. "I want to leave him," she said softly. "But I can't. If I leave him, I lose everything!"

There was a pause, and then soft chuckling. Gwen looked up again in confusion. "What?! That's not funny!"

He tilted her head up so they could look each other in the eyes. "Oh, Gwen," he nearly cooed. "You silly girl, why didn't you just tell us? We could've gotten you out of there in seconds."

Her eyes widened. "You could've?"

"There's a lot going on down there," Jack replied. "You'd be surprised as to some of the magic I make happen." He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. Gwen blushed and even giggled, but Jack could tell she was still hurting, which was of course perfectly understandable.

There was a part of him that very desperately wanted to kiss her, but he knew full well that this wouldn't help. Not after what she'd been through _, and I'm going to fucking kill—focus, Harkness. Not now. Not yet. Plenty of time to murder this asshat later. Focus on Gwen._

He looked at her again, at the pretend okay face she was trying to make, and he couldn't help but think the word _heartbreaking_. It was so clearly fake but she was _trying_ for it to look real, and to anyone who didn't know better, she probably would've fooled them. And that could only mean she'd had far, far too much practice.

Slowly, tentatively, hoping this wouldn't backfire in one way or another, he opened his arms to her. She stared at him for just a moment before falling into them and breaking down.

Gwen didn't want to let herself go like this — to be honest, she only usually did that with Rhys, and that was usually after they'd had a fight. But here Jack was, with his coat wrapped around her, and looking at her like it was breaking his heart to see her crying. And Rhys never looked like that — he always tried, but Gwen had become an expert on faking throughout the years. She knew the difference between real and fake, and he was fake. Jack was real.

So there she was, on the docks of Cardiff, crying into the shirt of someone who miraculously _cared,_ probably too much, but she wasn't going to worry about that at the moment.

"Shh. You're safe now," Jack told her, holding her close to him while she let everything out that she'd hidden, and everything that she'd never said to Rhys about their relationship because she knew it would just provoke him back to violence. The words spilled from her lips uncontrollably, flowing faster and faster the more she spoke, every cruel, nasty, horrific thing Rhys had ever said to her—the names, the accusations, the swears, the taunts—released into the cold air, along with all the tears she'd kept at bay for all this time.

Jack listened quietly as she spoke, and with every second that passed and every story she told, he grew more and more furious with the filthy, disgusting pig that was his friend's boy— _fiancé_ , he thought bitterly.

Eventually, she became too distraught to continue talking, and the words faded away, to be replaced by louder and louder sobs that told Jack more than any words ever could. He pulled her closer into his embrace and began whispering words of comfort into her ear, but to little avail. He looked up to see that people were staring at the two of them. "Oi!" he called to them. "Leave her alone."

Gwen looked up and saw the staring people. Her face flushed deep red with embarrassment as she tried to wipe her tears.

 _Stop crying, you fucking wreck._ She winced as she began to hear Rhys's voice in her head. _Want to make me look bad? No? Then bloody can it._

Jack watched in confusion as Gwen's face turned from red to white in a matter of seconds, green eyes shooting open and staring off into space. "Gwen?" he asked. He tried to touch her, but she flinched away. "Gwen, talk to me. What's going on?" She didn't respond. "Gwen. Gwen, talk to me— _leave her alone!_ "

* * *

Back in the Hub, Tosh and Ianto were watching the scene unfold on CCTV with concern. "What's got her upset?" Tosh asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Ianto admitted.

Tosh thought for a few seconds. "She was crying for awhile, but then suddenly she just started panicking."

"So it is panic, then. I figured as much."

"Absolutely," Tosh replied. "So the question is—"

"—what triggered it," the two finished in unison.

Ianto slid over to a computer next to Tosh's and began typing in commands. "Here, let's look at the footage." Keeping the current feed in their peripheral visions, they watched the replay of the past few minutes.

" _There_ ," Ianto said a few moments in.

"What?" Tosh asked.

Ianto rolled the footage back and replayed.

" _Oi! Leave her alone!"_

"That's it," he said. "It was knowing there were people watching her. But _why_? Embarrassment, I get, but a panic attack?"

Tosh rewinded a bit, and then zoomed in the view before playing it again, and again. "Because that's not a normal panic attack," she concluded. "It's not the watching that's triggering her; it's something she's associating with the watching."

"How do you know?" Ianto asked.

"Because it took a few seconds for it to start," Tosh explained. "When she first found out, she _was_ just embarrassed. Red face, tried to wipe her tears… and then a few seconds later, she panicked. Like she remembered something, and that upset her."

"I'm not sure I want to know what," Ianto muttered darkly. "So, what now?"

"We get them to stop watching her," Tosh said firmly.

* * *

Jack, meanwhile, was quickly becoming worried. He had no idea what was going on, but it certainly seemed as though Gwen wasn't receiving the oxygen she needed, which could only lead to disaster.

"Jack." Tosh's voice came crackling through his earpiece.

"I'm kinda busy here," he snapped.

" _Listen_ ," Tosh demanded. "Gwen's reacting to the fact that people are watching her… as much. I'm rerouting the perception filter from the lift to your watch. Should help her calm down—"

"—at the cost of _our_ lift," Owen whined in the background.

"Owen, shut up," Ianto muttered.

"Tosh, you're a genius," Jack said over the others' fighting. He pressed the now-flashing button on his watch. There was a sort of flash, and the people around them stopped paying attention. "Gwen," he said softly. "They've gone away now. Nobody's looking at you."

Gwen looked around again to see that Jack's words were true—somehow, miraculously, the people around them were paying no attention to them. She let out the air caught in her chest and took a few more shaky breaths.

"How—how did you do that?" she asked.

Jack grinned. "Just one of the many perks of working with a computer genius and a shit-ton of alien tech," he said. Feeling as though he could do this safely, he reached over and fixed the collar of his jacket, which was still hanging on her shoulders. "It was turned in," he explained.

"Do you want to come back inside? Ianto can make us some coffee," Jack suggested, after she'd wiped her tears.

"Sure," she said shakily.

"Hang on a sec," said Jack, fiddling with his watch. "Okay, we can go now."

She nodded and stood up, and he kept his arm around her, glaring at anyone who dared to look at Gwen in a weird way. She couldn't imagine how he would react to Rhys, seeing as how Rhys had actually _tried to punch her,_ and he was being protective over someone looking at her funny. She found that she was actually not that upset with the thought of Jack being protective around her when Rhys was around.

But what was so special about her? Nothing, that was what. All she was was a girl who'd been stood up by her boyfriend-now-fiancé, leading for her to be noticed by a rogue alien-fighter.

"Gwen, stop that. You know you're far more than that."

Shit. How much had she said aloud?

"Only the part about not being special, which, for the record, is utter bullshit," Jack replied. "You're still doing it, by the way." He stepped in front of her and bent slightly so they were eye to eye. "Listen to me," he said firmly. "I don't care what the hell you've been told, but Gwen Cooper, you're amazing. I've known you for less than a week and I can tell that already."

"Exactly!" she argued, tears falling. "You don't know me, Jack! You don't know anything about me! You have no idea how terrible I am."

"What could you possibly have done that could be so awful?" Jack demanded. If there was anyone sitting here who had done terrible things, it was him. Not Gwen. "I bet whatever you're thinking about isn't anywhere near as bad as you think it is."

"I'm...I'm selfish," Gwen forced out. "I refused to go to the wedding with Rhys, and I don't treat him right, and it's a miracle that he's actually staying with me. He gets so mad...he punched the wall the other day...but I don't blame him…" Gwen buried her face in Jack's coat, tired of talking about how awful she was.

Jack had to stop for a moment to process what Gwen had said to him. "He _punched the wall?_ With you there? Gwen, that's wrong. I can guarantee that you're not the selfish one. You're not the one who's standing up your fiancée for more than an hour and never even showing up."

"But you don't understand," Gwen felt a compulsion to defend Rhys, like she always did. "He's so nice sometimes."

"That doesn't negate standing you up on dates and punching the wall to scare you! Tell me Gwen, when he does things like that, who pays for the repairs?" he demanded.

Gwen hesitated a moment before answering "...Me? But it's because I always do things to upset him…"

"You're not his mother! He's responsible for the damage he does to the wall. And the damage he does to you for that matter." Jack sighed.

"I'm damaged. But it's not him who's damaging me. He's fixing me." Even as Gwen said the words, she didn't really think they were true.

"Trust me, Gwen, someone who punches the wall and makes you pay for it isn't fixing you. He's just hurting you more." Jack told her.

Gwen hesitated after hearing the "trust me" — she'd heard that so many times from Rhys that it seemed meaningless at this point. "Why do you care so much, anyway?" she asked him. "I'm nothing special… just some girl you met in the pub."

"I care because…" Jack trailed off. _Shit._ "Gwen… you're… you're not just some girl I met in the pub. I've met plenty of girls—and guys—in plenty of pubs, but I don't invite just anyone to the Hub. I saw something in you right away, something that…" He trailed off again. "I… oh, fuck it all. Gwen, I'm in love with you."

Gwen's eyes widened. This… this couldn't be real. People being in love with her wasn't a thing… right? Wrong. Right? Wrong?

 _No one else will have you._

 _Any man or woman would be lucky to have you._

 _No one else._

 _Anyone else._

 _No one._

 _Anyone._

 _Right?_

 _Wrong?_

 _Right?_

 _Wrong?_

 _No one? Someone? Anyone?_

 _Right?_

 _Wrong?_

 _So what?_

 _So what?_

 _Right?_

 _Wrong?_

 _Someone?_

 _No one?_

 _Wait._

 _No one?_

 _Wrong._

 _Anyone?_

 _So what?_

 _Someone?_

 _Right._

 _Right._

 _Someone._

 _Jack._

 _Right._

She noticed that Jack was holding her hands in his, and while reflex told her to pull away, to run, _instinct_ told her to stay, to let him, to let go for just a second so she could take off that frankly rather ugly ring and shove it into her jeans pocket with finality before grabbing him by the fashion travesty that was his suspenders and kissing him.

Jack couldn't help but laugh for just a second before wrapping his arms around her and kissing right back. He wasn't sure which made him happier, the fact that she was kissing him or the fact that she'd finally realized that all she'd been told was such horrendous bullshit that even the Weevils would refuse to touch it.

It was short and bittersweet, but when they broke apart, both were smiling. "So… back to the Hub for coffee?" he asked.

Gwen smiled and nodded. "It's a date."

* * *

 **Hi all, it's Aurora! Thanks for reading the latest installment of our fic (and thanks especially for waiting). I've recently become obsessed with AKA Jessica Jones and started writing an AU fanfic for it because I may or may not have loved the possibilities presented in AKA WWJD and may or may not have wanted to write that dynamic but healthier. If you're interested you can find it on AO3, where I have the same username as here. I also write original fiction, so just give me a PM if you're interested in that. Until next time!**

 **Hey guys, Lia here! As Aurora mentioned, thanks for reading and waiting. This one is so much fun to write and I love, love, LOVE working with Aurora! As always, love and ducks to the Lone Shippers, hugs to supporters, thanks to Eleonora, Noe, Hanul, and Kizzie, shoutouts to my chosen-sisters, happy rainbows for Aurora, and cookies for all! —Lia xxx**


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